When Should You Give Gifts that are Consumable?

Usually when you give gifts, you want something that’s long-lasting, so they keep it and they think of you. But there’s one occasion when you want to make sure your gifts are consumable, and that is when you are giving to referral partners.

When you receive a referral and you give a thank-you gift, give a consumable gift. If a referral partner receives a long-lasting gift like a book or desk accessory, they have no incentive to send you more referrals. They don’t need or want any more of those cluttering up their office. Give them something they will use up so you can replace it the next time that you get a referral.

Consumable Gifts

What kinds of things are consumable? People usually think of food when they think of consumable gifts. It may be a little cookie or treat. You can also give healthier things like a snack mix, nuts, or fresh fruit. You could consider high-end soaps or lotions that the recipient will use up. Office supplies (make them fun!) are another example of something that will get used up. Another thing that you can use that is consumable is some sort of gift card. Try to create a fun experience with your gift cards rather than just a generic Visa or Target gift card. Some options include movie tickets or a gift certificate to a restaurant. They’ll enjoy the experience that you gave them, but then want more.

Every time you get a referral, don’t give them something long-lasting, give them something that makes them want more. It gives them an incentive to give you more referrals so you can keep rewarding them.

You may not want to give the same gift every single time. If you have a range of different gifts then you can have a different reward levels for different amounts of referrals. You can spend a little more on higher level referral gifts and give them something a nicer but still consumable so that they can keep coming back for more.

The only time that you want to use consumable gifts is when it’s with a referral partner. The rest of the time, you want to give a gift that’s going to be long-lasting so that it reminds them of your business and they keep it around for a long time.

If you are ready to put together a referral rewards program, contact us. We help businesses design referral programs to increase the number of referrals they receive.

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Referral Magic by Deb Brown.

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